Preparedness Assessment for the Integration of Sustainability Criteria in the Public Procurement of Infrastructure in Vietnam

In line with the country's current examination of "Green Growth", it is needed to conducting a policy research in the field of public procurement, to examine how Viet Nam's legal and policy framework for environmental protection may be optimized to allow for the successful introduction of green procurement. To support this process, this research aims to explore the prevailing framework for Public Procurement of infrastructure and to make recommendations on how it can be greened. A lack of efficient infrastructure is currently listed by many investors as the number one problem when operating in Vietnam, and can potentially slow down Vietnam's growth. As investment efficiency will have to increase to maintain rapid growth, it is both an opportunity and necessity to include sustainability standards in new or adjusted institutional frameworks and legislation. This paper presents the result of a joint research between the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam (MONRE), and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Canada. The two institutes carried out a feasibility study and preparedness assessment of Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) of infrastructure in Vietnam. It analyzed the legal and institutional framework of traditional public procurement and public-private partnerships for the procurement of infrastructure, as well as the hurdles and opportunities for integrating sustainability criteria in both methods of public procurement in the future. At the same time, the study paid specific attention to market readiness in order to make sound and implementable sustainable development policy recommendations that are inclusive of both environmental concerns and socio-economic development of Vietnam.
http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/14211